Thin Films in Complete Wetting and the Specific Case of Nematic Liquid Crystals

Thin Films in Complete Wetting and the Specific Case of Nematic Liquid Crystals 

Nanoscale Liquid interfaces Wetting, Patterning, and Force Microscopy at the Molecular Scale Edited by Thierry Ondar uhu and Jean-Pierre Aim6 Copyright (c) 2013 Pan Stanford Publishing Pte. Ltd. 

In the case of simple, pure liquids and smooth substrates, mesoscopic precursor Films, that is, films whose thickness is much larger than molecular sizes, are also controlled by general laws, while specific behavior shows up at molecular scale. In the case of liquid crystals, specific behavior is present whatever the scale. How and why such behavior is observed is the subject of the present contribution, with specific focus on the nanoscopic thickness scale. At least in the case of liquid crystals, many questions are still waiting for answers. 

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